Conference Report: A call for action

right to left: Raisa Banfield (deputy mayor of Panama City), Kumaresh Misra (deputy secretary general Habitat III), Mohammed Abdelaty (minister of water resources and irrigation of Egypt), Carlos Bonete Martinho (minister of public works, housing and water resources of Mozambique) and Henk Ovink (Dutch special envoy for international water affairs).

picture: Hans Tak

On Monday 9 May, IABR–2016 hosted the international conference SUSTAINABLE URBAN DELTAS, part of the official program of the Delta Coalition, a new alliance of 12 countries that, despite all of the existing international consultative structures and conventions, have come together over a shared agenda they want to implement.

The Netherlands currently chairs the Delta Coalition and its first official high (administrative) level meeting took place in Rotterdam on 10 May. Prior to the official summit the IABR, together with the Dutch national government, brought government officials and professionals from around the world together for SUSTAINABLE URBAN DELTAS: How can we make the urban deltas of tomorrow more inclusive, sustainable, productive, and livable? How can we make our delta cities physically and socially resilient for all citizens?

Sustainable Urban Deltas Conference

picture: Hans Tak

Call for action 9 May was a day of in-depth deliberation with a group of international experts with different backgrounds. Policy makers, politicians, NGOs, academics, engineers, designers and consultants worked and talked together about the challenges and opportunities of the world’s urban deltas. The aim of the day was to create an agenda. If delta countries explore the challenges together and learn to find keys to solutions, they can subsequently start working together in practice, turn plans into action and do concrete projects.

Sustainable Urban Deltas Conference

picture: Hans Tak

A full report of the conference, including excerpts of the introductions by George Brugmans, Kees Rade and Henk Ovink, and keynotes by Maarten Hajer, Edgar Pieterse and Adriaan Geuze, can be downloaded here.